[SOLVED] Right click on 'mounted' tib caused Windows Explorer crash/restart.
ISSUE: Right click on mounted image cause Windows Explorer crash when user is also running WD SmartWare (Western Digital) in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
BACKGROUND: Mounting/unmounting of a tib (ATI image) is done via Windows Explorer R click/context menu nowt that the Mount/Unmount function was removed from the ATI 2015/2016 program GUI.
Issue is between ATI 2016 (and presumably ATI 2015) and Windows Explorer. TIB file was mounted via Windows Explorer without problem. However, after a R click attempt on the mounted drive, Windows Explorer would crash and restart without avaliability of the context menu to unmount.
Using the stand-alone program, "shexview", I was able to isolate the issue to a 3rd party context menu handler, "WDContextMenuHandler.dll". It is part of Western Digitals' drive software. Therefore, this issue is isolated to users with Western Digital 'external' hard drives when using "WD SmartWare" specifically, the context menu handler "WDContextMenuHandler.dll" within the program.
I tried updating the WD Smartware software and the security software and it didn't help. I also tried changing the permissions on the file 'WDContextMenuHandler.dll' without success.
SOLUTION: I could not figure out what "WDContextMenuHandler.dll" does since I saw no context menu items related to Western Digital or the hard drives. Regardless, I renamed the file to WDContextMenuHandler.dl.bak. (In most cases on 64 bit Windows, this file is in C:\Program Files\Western Digital\WD SmartWare.)
Now, when I right click on the mounted drive, I get the Windows Explorer context menu with the Acronis True Image option to unmount. No more explorer crashes. Additionally, all of the Western Digital programs appear to work without error or loss of function. Hope that helped.
Products: Acronis True Image 2016
System: 32bit Windows XP Pro SP2 on ASUS N61JQ
I still have the problem. There is no Western Digital external drive software installed. And, I am using Seagate External Backupand Expansion Portable drives without their software, only Acronis 2016. I get the same error as described above with 2016 .tib or 2014 .tib.
Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks /Howard
What Windance describes is a Shell extension issue that can be caused by any installed application which uses shell extensions to create context menu entries. The utlity used by Windance gives the user the ability to view these extensions and disable them one at a time to isolate those which are troublesome. You can do the same thing with the same tool. I have not used the tool described by Windance and make no guarantees of it's suitability for your issue however, I am providing link to that utility below:
http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.html
Hi there. I am going to make some guesses here.
1) Seagate External Backup and Expansion Portables 'probably' have some kind of 'software' on the actual drive. I remember getting a portable Seagate drive and having to learn how to delete all of the "BACKUP" software from the drive. External drives WITH software of some kind often include a 'context menu handler', usually a dll file that helps with backups, mounting and other functions from WITHIN Windows Explorer by right clicking for the menu. It's possible that your Seagate drive IS using such a process.
2) Regardless, if you are getting the "SAME" errors; mounting a tib OK but unable to UN-mount because a right click crashes explorer and you don't get the menu to unmount, then most likely, it is a "context menu handler" (shell extensions/dll) problem.
3) The link to shexview.html is good. The program has been around, it's free and does NOT install on your computer. It 'runs' as a stand-alone program to provide a way to disable shell extensions. You 'disable' various 'non-Microsoft' 3rd party extensions one at a time, test the 'right click' ability to unmount the mounted Acronis tib, re-enable in shexview if it's not the one. Under options, there are also 32 bit handlers to check. Try looking for Seagate extensions first. If there aren't any, then you'll have to go at it until you've tried all, possibly even some of browser helper objects and other. You'll have to read on NIRSOFT more about how to use it. Although shexview does not install, it DOES make changes. Remember to re-enable what you disabled until you find the issue.
4) If it is a context menu handler, some dll or similar file, you'll have to decide what to do with it. I did not leave it disabled it in shexview. I renamed the file in it's program folder and it no longer showed up in shexview and no longer causes the issue. However, I cannot say what will happen if the file is not a Seagate menu handler, or even if it is. In my case, I am almost positive, the file I renamed was a badly written file that didn't do what it was supposed to do anyway, or it was a leftover before the software was updated and doesn't use it anymore. Good luck. I'm a little busy this week but I'll check back if I see a new comment.
Nirsoft makes good stuff. No bloatware, no cumbersome install routines.